Littlewoods rolls out Manx online casino

LITTLEWOODS Leisure, the Liverpool-based sports business owned by Aim-listed Sportech, will unveil plans to launch an online casino this week, based on the Isle of Man.

The Littlewoods casino is the latest attempt by Sportech to exploit the Littlewoods brand - best known for its football pools business.

Sportech is understood to be one of three companies that have been awarded a licence by the Isle of Man government which hopes to attract some of the world's biggest gaming companies to their shores, after passing a law to permit the operation of internet casinos.

The Manx government, which received applications from 11 large gaming companies base in Europe, North America and Africa, will issue the first three licences this week.

MGM Mirage, one of the largest US-based casino groups, has, as expected, been awarded a licence by the Manx authorities. The group, which was created from the merger of Mirage Resorts and MGM Grand last year, is the first US casino to set up an offshore internet site.

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Offshore bookmakers and casinos have traditionally serviced the US market from Caribbean tax havens, but MGM preferred a British Isles internet casino licence, which it believed would carry more kudos and be more marketable.

All firms hoping to operate out of the Isle of Man will be vetted by the Manx government which will require the deposit of a "bond". The gaming companies will pay £80,000 a year for the licence. The Tynwald, the Isle of Man parliament eventually hopes to award 12 licences.

Sportech, which is backed by Trevor Hemmings, the leisure entrepreneur who owns the Blackpool Tower, bought the Littlewoods Leisure business, which includes football pools, telephone betting and online gaming, for £160m a year ago.

Earlier this month Sportech posted the first results since the acquisition. The company reported an operating profit of £9.3m. Sportech refused to comment.

Alderney, a rival offshore tax haven, plans to issue six e-gaming licences before the end of the year. The tiny Channel Island - which is just 3.5 miles long and 1.5 miles wide with a working population of just 1,300 hopes to attract "major names" from the United States, Canada and Australia. Casino operators that have approached Alderney include Park Place Entertainment, the giant Las Vegas casino operator.

Only a handful of countries around the world permit online gambling and some lawmakers, particularly in the United States, are seeking complete bans on the industry.

But a report by The River City Group, a US consultancy business, believes that the e-gaming industry will be worth $3.5bn by 2003, there are already over 400 off-shore internet casinos.